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PERFORMING ACCURATE AND CONSISTENT COLOUR CALIBRATION

Disappointed with their incumbent monitors used for retouching and general colour work, Guardian News & Media (GNM) re-evaluated and looked to NEC’s SpectraView colour solution to overcome previous issues with uniformity to deliver consistent even colour across the monitor.

The Challenge

‘WE WERE HAVING ISSUES WITH UNIFORMITY’

GNM publishes the Guardian and Observer national newspapers and the Guardian.co.uk website. GNM is internationally recognised as a digital pioneer, having embraced emerging technologies and championed a “mutualised” approach to journalism based on digital engagement, openness and collaboration.

The GNM imaging studio processes the pictures for the various Group’s products from newspaper and magazines through to the website and iPhone/iPad Apps.

Dealing with anything from basic image enhancement through to very complex creative retouching, the studio processes around 2,500 images per week. Working with many different printing specifications the studio relies heavily on accurate monitors to achieve the best results. The studio has 13 workstations requiring colour calibrated monitors, 3 of which have a dual monitor setup. The additional screen estate enables staff to observe all work passing through the department for quality control purposes.

The imaging studio had been using a number of 30 inch colour critical monitors for retouching and general colour work but productivity and accuracy were continually compromised due to problems with calibration. This lead to issues with uniformity where the screens were not giving a consistent, even colour across the screen.

‘Our existing monitors became due for replacement, so we were looking for an alternative which could address the uniformity problems we had suffered with and deliver the same level of brightness’ said Dave Kirwan, Head of Colour Reproduction at GNM.

The NEC Solution

Trusted NEC quality promises reference standard performance and reliability and its SpectraView range has earned an established reputation within the colour critical market. The SpectraView Reference 301 was presented to GNM. With the latest 10-bit P-IPS panel, covering 98 % Adobe colour space, this recently released 30 inch display delivers the ultimate solution for environments where colour accuracy is critical. Placed within a line-up of several competing products, GNM rigorously tested the displays over a three week period. The NEC SpectraView solution out-performed the competition delivering excellent levels of uniformity across the 30 inch screen. Furthermore, the accuracy in calibration using the NEC Profiler software was considered to be the superior solution.

The Result

‘THEY HAVE PERFORMED TO OUR EXACTING STANDARDS’

Dave went on to say ‘The NEC SpectraView Reference 301 we trialled achieved the most accurate calibration we have ever seen with an average delta E of 0.2. We wanted monitors that could satisfy ISO 12646 soft proofing requirements, and still be covered by a comprehensive warranty. Also the price had to be right. NEC delivered in all these areas.’